dd wrote:


In my part of town,

DD = doctor of divinity
DDS = doctor of dental surgery

MT = Machshovo Tova

I thought MT was for Monstuh Truck plates

Gevura Shebyesod wrote:


In my part of town there are no monstuhs and no trucks, only people and horses. By us the expression goes: "Keep horsin' around!" Or as Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twersky writes in his book (Generation to Generation), his father used to always say to the children, "Lebedig kinderlach, lebedig!"

Hatzlacha

MT

A Great Strategy Against the YH

There is a piece in Mesilas Yeshorim (chapter 13) that relates to this week's parsha and is worth repeating:

Our sages teach us regarding lust, that one who sees a degraded Sotah should stay away from wine. Note that this is a great strategy for a person, so that he may save himself from his evil inclination. For when one is in the throes of the sin, it is difficult for him to control and subdue his desires. Therefore, when he is still far from the sin he needs to continue keeping himself at a safe distance. This way, it will be harder for the YH to get him close to the sinful act.

Hatzlacha / Shabbat Shalom / Gut Chodesh

MT

and this is even after he sees the sotah 'blow up'!

It is truly amazin' the powers of lust!

b'hatzlachah

I saw a very similar thing in Sifsei Kohein who brings down the Medrash Rabbah (Shemos, parsha 16, 2)

Don't have time to translate now, sorry.

Thanks Pidaini for that 'tzushtel'. Interestingly, the Mesilas Yeshorim also brings that Medrash in an earlier chapter (ch. 11) and he explains that from here we see that in the Parsha of Sotah the torah is actually teaching us what to do in other areas such as lust - to make fences and to keep our distance.

Hatzlacha

MT

On Shabbos I was discussing this Maamar Chazal with someone,
הרואה סוטה בקלקולה יזיר עצמו מן היין
and we realized that each of us had understood the poshute' meaning of it in a different way.
I had always assumed that it meant,that when someone sees the results of the actions of the Sotah who was Mezaneh, he should realize what Taiva can cause and he should be יזיר עצמו מן היין.
The person I was speaking with (my son in law) said that he had always thought it meant, that if a person sees a woman who was mezane', he should be concerned that this may have a negative affect on him, and bring him to lessen his zehirus from ervah and avizrayhu D'arayos, similar to what the Chofetz Chaim says that when a person sees chilul shabbos he should be mechazek himself in shmiras shabbos because it causes a rifyon in hi feelings of shmiras shabbos,
so to protect himself from this bad hashpo'oh he should be יזיר עצמו מן היין.
Probably both explanations are true, I was just wondering which is the more poshet pshat???

shvisi, i think both of those can be considered pshat,

i want to shear just another vort on the matter from the rebbe r' mendelah of vitepsk zy"a
really if someone saw already what happens when a lady is mezaneh he realized already to keep away from problems so why does he need to keep away from wine? but if someone learns something and doesnt put it into actions he missed the boat so chazal say if you did see a sotah then make sure to make something out of what you learnt so thats why yazir atzmoe min hayayin.

just felt it can be of use to the members that everything we learn needs to be put into actions.

Turning our curse into a blessing

In this week’s Parsha we find that Hashem turned Bilaam’s curse into a blessing because Hashem loves us. Perhaps we can say pshat, that this refers to the great nisayon of lust which Bilaam brought upon us. This is indeed a great curse. But Hashem teaches us that we can turn this into a blessing by using it as a springboard to get closer to Him.

Hatzlacha

MT

Where do you live, Zeidi? Or did you not put on your reading glasses before looking at the calender? Or were you hearing aids not working when they announced the parsha this week?

Pidaini wrote:


From one Zaidy protectin' another Zaidy....

Pidaini, please take your comments back.

Zaidy's eyes and ears are workin' just fine.

You're nicer than me; I was gonna make 'em be maavir sedra first.